extreme weatherhttp://www.desmogblog.com/taxonomy/term/6522/all
enWhat Americans Don’t Know About Climate Change Could Be Really Bad For Their Healthhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/12/18/what-americans-don-t-know-about-climate-change-could-be-really-bad-their-health
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/shutterstock_103870181_1.jpg?itok=x13Q06_k" width="200" height="131" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>When it comes to the health impacts of global warming, Americans are woefully uninformed.<br /><br />
In fact, <a href="http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/public-perceptions-of-the-health-consequences-of-global-warming" target="_blank">according to a survey</a> conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, only about one in four can even name a health problem associated with global warming that their fellow Americans might be suffering from.<br /><br />
Only 14% of Americans are aware of one of the most obvious health impacts of all the global warming pollution that has been dumped into our atmosphere: respiratory problems like asthma and other lung diseases. A mere 6% make the connection between illness, injury, and death resulting from extreme weather events and climate change.<br /><br />
Less than 5% of Americans could name any of the other consequences to human health from global warming.<br /><br />
Perhaps that’s no surprise, given that the survey also found 70% of Americans have given “little or no thought” to how global warming could affect human health in the first place.</p>
<!--break-->
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Global warming is already having real health consequences in America today,” researcher Ed Maibach, PhD, of George Mason University said in a statement. “People are being harmed by extreme weather events, wildfires, decreased air quality, and illnesses transmitted by food, water, mosquitoes and ticks. Our study found that most Americans don’t yet know that climate change threatens human health. This suggests the need for a public health education campaign.”<br /><br />
Another key takeaway of the survey: even at a time when racial and economic injustice is at the forefront of the national consciousness, less than one-third of Americans are able to answer correctly when asked “Do you think some groups or types of Americans are more likely than other Americans to experience health problems related to global warming?”<br /><br />
“Global warming will disproportionally harm the most vulnerable members of our society,” said researcher Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD, of Yale University. “Young children, the elderly, lower-income Americans, the sick, racial and ethnic minorities — these are just some groups of Americans that are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of global warming.”<br /><br />
The <a href="http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/human-health" target="_blank">2014 National Climate Assessment</a> by the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Global Change Research Program backs up the assertion that the most vulnerable among us are the most at risk, finding that, “Climate change will increase the risk of climate-related illness and death for a number of vulnerable groups in the United States, as when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.”<br /><br />
The <span class="caps">NCA</span> also has this to say about global warming’s impacts on Americans' health overall:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Climate change threatens human health and well-being in many ways, including impacts from increased extreme weather events, wildfire, decreased air quality, threats to mental health, and illnesses transmitted by food, water, and disease-carriers such as mosquitoes and ticks. Some of these health impacts are already underway in the United States.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But don’t worry, Americans. While you probably don’t know about this, either, the Department of Health and Human Services recently released <a href="http://toolkit.climate.gov/sites/default/files/SCRHCFI%20Best%20Practices%20Report%20final2%202014%20Web.pdf" target="_blank">“The Health Care Climate Resilience Guide and Toolkit”</a> to help hospitals better prepare for taking care of you when you arrive at the emergency room with a climate-related health problem.<br /> </p>
<p style="font-size:9px"><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-103870181/stock-photo-playing-little-boy-on-the-river-coast-near-industrial-plant.html?src=2DEd0nJ58Xz-gebiSSNDBg-1-1" target="_blank">Soloviova Liudmyla / Shutterstock.com</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16603">human health</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5766">health impacts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19407">respiratory disease</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6039">air pollution</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1461">asthma</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div></div></div>Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:26:46 +0000Mike Gaworecki8925 at http://www.desmogblog.comCanada Urged to Prepare for 'Climate Migrants' in Warming World: New Reporthttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/11/10/new-report-urges-canada-prepare-climate-migrants-warming-world-ccpa
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/climate%20migrants.jpg?itok=aJ-_LsMl" width="200" height="134" alt="Climate migrants" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In a sign of things to come, a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Ottawa should create a new “climate migrants” immigration class to prepare for the inflow of people fleeing extreme climate change.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Estimates of the number of climate-influenced migrants range widely, but most projections agree that in the coming years climate change will compel hundreds of millions of people to relocate,” the report</span> says. <span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Climate change is one factor that interacts with many others to drive population movements.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Many countries are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than Canada, said the 26-page report — </span><a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/BC%20Office/2014/11/ccpa-bc_ClimateMigration_web.pdf" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Preparing <span class="caps">BC</span> for Climate Migration</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> — published last week</span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Industrialized countries like Canada have disproportionately benefitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, whereas others who have contributed least to climate change will disproportionately feel its impacts,” the report states.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canada is <span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">the fourth highest per-capita greenhouse gas emitter in the world according to 2008 </span><a href="http://www.wri.org" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">World Resources Institute</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> climate data (this </span>estimate does not take into account emissions resulting from the burning of exported coal, oil and gas).</span></p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Report co-author Tim Takaro, a health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University, <a href="http://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/canada-and-bc-unprepared-climate-based-migration-ccpa-study">said</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> Canada has a moral responsibility to people who migrate due to climate change — not just as a matter of charity or generosity, but of justice and reparation as well.</span></p>
<p style="font-size: 13.3333339691162px; letter-spacing: 0.389999985694885px;"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The federal and provincial governments, rather than ignoring the issue, should develop a comprehensive policy framework to manage climate migration,” Takaro said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The world is already witnessing the impacts of climate change on lives and livelihoods, the report says.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Global damage from climate change itself and fossil fuel development is estimated at $1.2 trillion per year, or 1.6 per cent of world <span class="caps">GDP</span> in 2010, and is projected to rise to 3.2 per cent in 2030.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canada has acted to thwart international negotiations on climate change, and has not supported <span class="caps">UN</span>-sponsored measures that would provide financial assistance to countries affected by global warming.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canada admits about 250,000 immigrants of all classes per year, the report said, a number that has changed little since the early 1990s. New permanent residents span three major categories: family class (spouses and other family of Canadian citizens and permanent residents), economic immigrants (workers and business immigrants) and refugees.</span></p>
<p>The number of refugees has dropped from more than 50,000 in each of 1991 and 1992 to fewer than 25,000 per year since 2008, the report says. Refugees constituted 23 per cent of new immigrants to Canada in 1991, but that number had fallen to nine per cent by 2012. In contrast, about two-thirds of immigrants are now from the economic immigrant category. Most of these are skilled workers and their families, while another group includes “investor” immigrants and their families.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>While there is scope for climate migrants to be accepted under this existing framework of law, greater clarity and certainty could be provided by creating a new immigration class of ‘climate migrant’ along with targets and programs to ensure Canada lives up to its moral responsibilities,” said the report.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Key settlement services should be made accessible to climate migrants, the report recommended, adding more funding should also be allocated to reduce strain on these already-overloaded systems and to allow increased migration.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Given that most climate migrants will remain in the Global South, Canada should substantially increase its support to developing countries shouldering the burden of climate displacement,” the report added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Canada owes a ‘climate debt’ to the nations bearing the greatest impacts, including countries that will assist and settle climate migrants.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: Villagers wade through floodwater in Bihar, India in 2008. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/balazsgardi/6015038742/in/photolist-8knT6S-8kjGza-8kjFyT-8kjFxc-8kjGAB-8knUe1-8knTd3-aawDoQ-aawDKs-aatQpr-aawDMw-aawDPs-aawDsw-aatQie-aatQdn-aatQnz-aawDHU-aawDAN-aatQL2-aatQyr">Balazs Gardi </a>via Flickr.</em></span></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18837">climate migrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5619">climate refugees</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/canada">canada</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5618">Global South</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13916">CCPA</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6967">Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div></div></div>Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:08:57 +0000Chris Rose8756 at http://www.desmogblog.comNew Report: Who Will Pay for the Costs and Damages of Climate Change?http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/10/13/new-report-who-will-pay-costs-and-damages-climate-change
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/People%27s%20Climate%20March%20Zack%20Embree.jpg?itok=ZQBCGaWR" width="200" height="133" alt="people&#039;s climate march, zack embree" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canadian oil and gas companies could be liable for billions of dollars of damages per year for their contribution to climate change caused by toxic greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study published Thursday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The study looked at five oil and gas companies currently trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange — Encana, Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources, Talisman, and Husky — and found they could presently be incurring a global liability as high as $2.4 billion annually.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Climate change is increasingly discussed not as some far-off threat but in terms of current realities,” said the 62-page study — </span><a href="http://wcel.org/sites/default/files/publications/Payback%20Time.pdf" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Payback Time? What the internationalization of climate litigation could mean for Canadian oil and gas companies</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and West Coast Environmental Law (<span class="caps">WCEL</span>), the study found data showing the global financial cost of private and public property and other damage associated with climate change in 2010 has been estimated at $591 billion, rising to $4.2 trillion in 2030.</span></p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>That number is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years,” said the study written by Andrew Gage, <span class="caps">WCEL</span> staff counsel and University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>In Canada, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy has estimated that climate change will cost $5 billion annually by 2020. Given these significant costs, attention will inevitably shift to the issue of compensation and liability. In short, who will pay for the costs and damages caused by climate change, as well as the necessary adaptive measures?”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Fossil fuel companies and other large-scale greenhouse gas producers have contributed, globally, to trillions of dollars of damages related to climate change, Gage said in an accompanying </span><a href="http://wcel.org/media-centre/media-releases/climate-damages-litigation-could-cost-canadian-oil-gas-companies-billion" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">media release</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>As with tobacco companies in the 1980s, these producers are confident the law will not hold them responsible for these damages,” Gage added.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>But rising levels of climate damage, increasing scientific evidence about the links between emissions and the damage they cause, and an emerging public debate about who is financially responsible for this damage, could change the situation very quickly.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The most serious risk to Canadian companies is not litigation in Canada, the media release said. “Because the impacts and causes of climate change are global, climate damages litigation could take place in, and apply the laws of, any of the countries where damage occurs.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, said substantial shifts will be required of large-scale greenhouse gas producers and their investors if they hope to manage the risk of climate damages litigation.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Those shifts include “moving away from fossil fuels, and supporting the adoption of international agreements that could link the reduction of liability risk to the provision of financial assistance or future emission reductions.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The study concluded that the potential for climate damages litigation is global in scope.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Cases could be brought in a large number of countries, under a wide range of legal theories, then enforced in Canada or other countries in which greenhouse gas producing companies have assets,” the study said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>As a result, these companies and their shareholders are exposed to significant legal and financial risks — and these risks will only grow.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In a telephone interview, Gage told DeSmog Canada that he is not aware of any successful climate damages litigation anywhere in the world, even in the highly litigious <span class="caps">U.S.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>This is very new and in very early days but it is evolving fairly rapidly,” he said. “I would think there would be lawsuits of this type outside the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> within a couple of years but we’ll have to see.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In a related commentary in Thursday’s </span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/why-climate-litigation-could-soon-go-global/article21002326/#dashboard/follows/" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Globe and Mail</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">, Gage and Byers said climate change is no longer a distant threat.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Canadian oil and gas companies could soon find themselves on the hook for at least part of the damage,” they wrote. “For as climate change costs increase, a global debate has begun about who should pay.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">They also noted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu recently called on global leaders to hold those responsible for climate damages accountable.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Just 90 corporations – the so-called carbon majors – are responsible for 63 per cent of <span class="caps">CO</span>2 emissions since the industrial revolution,” Tutu was quoted as saying. “It is time to change the profit incentive by demanding legal liability for unsustainable environmental practices.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: <a href="http://www.zackembree.com">Zack Embree</a></em></span></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18317">climate liability</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18284">climate litigation</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1291">carbon emissions</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8359">Husky</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/suncor">suncor</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5611">Canadian Natural Resources</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7701">Talisman</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/encana">encana</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/13389">Andrew Gage</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10798">West Coast Environmental Law</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6967">Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18286">Michael Byers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1976">emissions</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18318">climate damages</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2207">sea level rise</a></div></div></div>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 15:00:00 +0000Chris Rose8631 at http://www.desmogblog.comPrescription for Health: Fight Global Warminghttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/09/09/prescription-health-fight-global-warming
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/shutterstock_103870181_0.jpg?itok=iPB9HGqk" width="200" height="131" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><em>This is a guest post by David Suzuki</em></p>
<p>What if we could reduce worldwide deaths from disease, starvation and disaster while improving the health of people everywhere? According to the World Health Organization, we can.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Previously unrecognized health benefits could be realized from fast action to reduce climate change and its consequences,” says a news release about <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/climate-health-risks-action/en/"><span class="caps">WHO</span>’s first global conference on health and climate</a> in Geneva August 27 to 29, adding, “changes in energy and transport policies could save millions of lives annually from diseases caused by high levels of air pollution.” Encouraging people to use public transit, cycling and walking instead of driving would cut traffic injuries and vehicle emissions and promote better health through increased physical activity.</p>
<p>Reducing the threat of global warming and finding ways to adapt to unavoidable change will also help people around the world “deal with the impact of heat, extreme weather, infectious disease and food insecurity.”</p>
<p>Climate change affects human health in multiple ways. Increased extreme weather causes flooding and droughts, which influences food production, water and sanitation. Pathogens that plague humans, livestock and crops spread more widely. <span class="caps">WHO</span> notes that diseases such as cholera, malaria and dengue are especially sensitive to weather and climate changes.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>According to <span class="caps">WHO</span>, “Climate change is already causing tens of thousands of deaths every year from shifting patterns of disease, from extreme weather events, such as heat-waves and floods, and from the degradation of water supplies, sanitation, and impacts on agriculture” — and it will get worse if we fail to address the problem. The poor, elderly and children are most vulnerable.</p>
<p><span class="caps">WHO</span>’s conference was held in advance of <span class="caps">UN</span> secretary general <a href="http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/">Ban Ki-moon’s Climate Summit 2014</a> for world leaders, taking place in New York September 23, and geared partly toward ensuring world leaders come up with an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol at the Paris <span class="caps">UN</span> climate change conference next year.</p>
<p>Two days before the Climate Summit, on September 21, more than half a million people are expected to gather in New York for the <a href="http://peoplesclimate.org/">People’s Climate March</a>, with simultaneous events around the world, co-ordinated by a coalition of more than 1,000 organizations, including environmental, social justice, religious, health and labour groups.</p>
<p><span class="caps">WHO</span>’s conference and findings show the importance of getting health-care professionals on board with climate action, as they are with the People’s Climate March. “The evidence is overwhelming: climate change endangers human health,” says <span class="caps">WHO</span> director-general Margaret Chan. “Solutions exist and we need to act decisively to change this trajectory.”</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ban-kimoon/now-is-the-time-to-act-on_b_5738574.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">Huffington Post article</a>, Ban Ki-moon stresses that global warming is an immediate and urgent issue. “Instead of asking if we can afford to act, we should be asking what is stopping us, who is stopping us, and why?” he writes. “Let us join forces to push back against skeptics and entrenched interests. Let us support the scientists, economists, entrepreneurs and investors who can persuade government leaders and policy-makers that now is the time for action.”</p>
<p>Beyond forestalling the almost-certain catastrophic consequences of unchecked global warming, changing our habits, conserving energy and shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy will have many benefits for human health — and for the economy. Reducing the burden of pollution- and global warming–related health care costs is a big factor, but <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-cleantech-edge-canadas-fastest-growing-industry-in-the-age-of-climate-change-tickets-12242422415">opportunities also exist in the clean technology sector</a>. Climate <a href="http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/">Summit organizers</a> point to the “growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.”</p>
<p>A leaked draft of the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-26/irreversible-damage-seen-from-climate-change-in-un-leak.html">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment’s final synthesis report</a> concludes that global warming is already having major impacts worldwide and that, unless we do something about it, we can expect “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.” Our news media should be focusing on these issues rather than chasing an endless line of celebrity antics, corporate priorities and political posturing.</p>
<p>Scientists have warned about global warming consequences for decades, but efforts by fossil fuel interests to sow doubt and confusion, combined with intransigent governments and public apathy, have brought us to a tipping point.</p>
<p>The choice is clear: If we want to protect our health, our children’s and grandchildren’s health, and the natural systems that keep us alive and healthy, we must act now.</p>
<p><em>Written with Contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington.</em></p>
<p><em>Learn more at <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org">www.davidsuzuki.org</a>.</em><br /> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Image credit: Playing little boy on the river coast near industrial plant via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-103870181/stock-photo-playing-little-boy-on-the-river-coast-near-industrial-plant.html">Shutterstock</a></em></span>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4175">health</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/world-health-organization">World Health Organization</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2031">clean energy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2920">pollution</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/834">intergovernmental panel on climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17963">People&#039;s Climate March</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17964">Climate Summit 2014</a></div></div></div>Tue, 09 Sep 2014 22:53:41 +0000Guest8489 at http://www.desmogblog.comMajor Disasters Linked to Extreme Weather, Climate and Water Hazards On the Risehttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/08/18/major-disasters-linked-extreme-weather-climate-and-water-hazards-rise
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/shutterstock_119555788.jpg?itok=MrzP27gs" width="200" height="133" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Recently published data collected by the World Meteorological Organisation shows there were close to five times as many weather- and climate-change-related disasters in the first decade of this century than in the 1970s.</p>
<p>As many as 1.94 million people lost their lives due to these catastrophic weather events between 1970 and 2012, which cost $2.4 trillion <span class="caps">US</span> in economic losses, according to the <a href="http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/transfer/2014.06.12-WMO1123_Atlas_120614.pdf">Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2012)</a>.</p>
<p>The 44-page atlas, a joint publication of the Geneva-based <span class="caps">UN</span> agency <span class="caps">WMO</span> and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (<span class="caps">CRED</span>) of the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, examined major reported disasters linked to weather, climate and water extremes.</p>
<p>The atlas included 8,835 major disasters in the four decades between 1970 and 2010. The largest increase, however, was between 1971 and 1980 with 743 extreme events and 2001 and 2010 with 3,496 events.</p>
<p>Flooding and storms were the main cause of the disasters in the last decade but the data also shows heat waves are becoming more deadly and more common.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Disasters caused by weather, climate, and water-related hazards are on the rise worldwide. Both industrialized and non-industrialized countries are bearing the burden of repeated floods, droughts, temperature extremes and storms,” <a href="http://www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_998_en.html"><span class="caps">WMO</span> Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said</a> in an accompanying media release.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Improved early warning systems and disaster management are helping to prevent loss of life. But the socio-economic impact of disasters is escalating because of their increasing frequency and severity and the growing vulnerability of human societies.”</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Written to help decision-makers better understand the disasters and efficiently plan for future similar events, the atlas found that the 10 costliest catastrophes accounted for 19% or $444 billion of overall economic losses.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Storms and floods accounted for 79% of the total number of disasters due to weather, water and climate extremes and caused 54% of the deaths and 84% of economic losses,” the atlas said. “Droughts caused 35% of deaths, mainly due to the severe African droughts of 1975, 1983 and 1984.”</p>
<p>Ranking disasters according to the numbers of deaths, the atlas found that a 1983 drought in Ethiopia and a 1970 tropical cyclone in Bangladesh each killed 300,000 people, making them the most lethal weather-related events in the past 40 years.</p>
<p>In terms of economic losses by disaster types, hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the most expensive, costing $147 billion. Hurricane Sandy, in 2012, was the second most expensive storm, costing $50 billion.</p>
<p>The media release also noted the <span class="caps">UN</span>’s Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2013 concluded that direct and indirect losses from natural hazards of all kinds have been underestimated by at least 50% because of data collection challenges.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Another challenge for users of risk information is the changing characteristics (frequency, location, severity) of weather-, climate- and water-related hazards,” the release added. “Natural climate variability is now exacerbated by long-term, human-induced climate change, so that yesterday’s norms will not be the same as tomorrow’s.”<br /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Image credit: Breezy Point, <span class="caps">NY</span> in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-119555788/stock-photo-breezy-point-ny-november-burned-houses-in-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-sandy-on-november.html">Shutterstock</a>. </em></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17616">World Meteorological Organisation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17621">united nations global assessment report on disaster risk reduction</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17622">economic impacts of climate change</a></div></div></div>Mon, 18 Aug 2014 20:28:49 +0000Chris Rose8384 at http://www.desmogblog.comNew Study Links California Drought to Climate Change and Burning of Fossil Fuelshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/05/10/new-study-links-california-drought-climate-change-and-burning-fossil-fuels
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/folsom-lake-drought-Jan2014.jpg?itok=g1uVe3cq" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>California, widely considered the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> state that most promoted the American Dream, may turn into a nightmare this summer as a result of the worst drought in at least 15 years.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">And a new academic study suggests there may be a direct connection between the persistent drought and climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The study shows that, beginning with unusually cold waters off Southeast Asia, a persistent high-pressure ridge, or dipole, built up late last year and anchored over the Gulf of Alaska, preventing usual levels of moisture from reaching the West Coast of North America.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Reviewing weather data and sea surface temperatures, the study also determined that the dipole generated a low-pressure ridge built up north of the Great Lakes, eventually resulting in so-called freezing Polar Vortex events in central Canada and the <span class="caps">U.S.</span></span></p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Simon Wang, Assistant Professor of Climate at Utah State University, is the lead </span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">author of the study — <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014GL059748/abstract">Probable causes of the abnormal ridge accompanying the 2013–2014 California drought: <span class="caps">ENSO</span> precursor and anthropogenic warming footprint</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In an email interview, Wang told DeSmog the study results are important because “scientists have known for years that climate change impacts extreme events like drought, but had not been able to relate a single event to </span><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">climate change or warming.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Wang said the research provides quantitative evidence how the California drought and the polar vortex events are linked to the long-term change in climate, and the role of greenhouse gases. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Knowing this link helps people anticipate future extreme events, because the trend is going to continue and drought can get worse,” he said. “Simply put, there will be drought again and we need to be ready for it when it strikes.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The dipole is linked to the recent cold water off Southeast Asia that act as a precursor to El Niño, which is an occasional and powerful event that warms the tropical Pacific and changes global weather systems.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The academic paper suggests that increased greenhouse gas loading in the atmosphere contributed to the dipole, the drought in California and the Polar Vortex events. It also said the study can be used to predict future puzzling weather events.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The inference from this study is that the abnormal intensity of the winter ridge is traceable to human-induced warming but, more importantly, its development is potentially predicable,” the report concluded.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Wang said it is important to reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere because they can lead to increased intensity of drought and flooding.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The reduction of carbon levels will help reduce the intensity of such events,” he said. “But the more pressing issue is mitigation like improving irrigation technology and solving water right issues; we could learn from how Australians have dealt with drought.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Wang’s study likely won’t help California deal with its current drought — which is now covering the entire state — but it may help scientists, engineers, agrologists and firefighters plan for the future.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Described as the ninth largest economy of the world, California is the top agricultural producer in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> at almost $45 billion. <span class="caps">CBC</span> has reported that Statistics Canada data shows that Canada imported food products worth $2.7 billion from the state last year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The state’s already tiny snowpack is quickly melting, many of the major reservoirs are at extremely low levels and the ground is already caked dry. Governor Jerry Brown, fearful of an impending catastrophe, declared a state of emergency in mid-January.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Although the official start of summer is still more than six weeks away, cattle are already being moved out of state, farmers are wondering what to plant and where and consumers — in and outside of California — have been warned that higher food costs are on the way.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">With more than 38 million people, the Golden State is clearly bracing for worse in the months to come.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In the meantime, Wang added he and other climate researchers will build on the study by continuing to “identify the pathways in which greenhouse gases modulate the weather/climate systems, hoping each of the puzzle can eventually lead to useful prediction and better preparation.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: Folsom lake drought. <a href="http://ca.water.usgs.gov/data/drought/index.html"><span class="caps">USGS</span></a> image by David Pratt.</em></span></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16298">Simon Wang</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2010">drought</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/15352">polar vortex</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16299">dipole</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2071">el nino</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1928">greenhouse gas</a></div></div></div>Sat, 10 May 2014 16:07:25 +0000Chris Rose8083 at http://www.desmogblog.comClimate Change "Has Moved Firmly into the Present," Latest NCA Federal Report Stateshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/05/07/climate-change-has-moved-firmly-present-federal-report-states
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Screen%20Shot%202014-05-06%20at%205.16.03%20PM.png?itok=0wHuoozA" width="200" height="182" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Climate change is already negatively affecting every region in the United States and the future looks even more dismal if coordinated mitigation and adaptation efforts are not immediately aggressively pursued, according to the third <span class="caps">U.S.</span> National Climate Assessment report released Tuesday.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” notes the massive <span class="caps">NCA</span> </span><a href="http://nca2014.globalchange.gov" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">report</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington State, and maple syrup producers in Vermont are all observing climate-related changes that are outside of recent experience. So, too, are coastal planners in Florida, water managers in the arid Southwest, city dwellers from Phoenix to New York, and Native Peoples on tribal lands from Louisiana to Alaska.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report adds evidence of human-induced climate change continues to strengthen and that impacts are increasing across the nation. The report says Americans are already noticing the results of climate change, from longer and hotter summers to shorter and warmer winters. Rain falls in heavier downpours, there is more flooding, earlier snow melt, more severe wildfires and less summer sea ice in the Arctic.</span></p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Scientists who study climate change confirm that these observations are consistent with significant changes in Earth’s climatic trends,” says the report that was prepared by hundreds of scientists for the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> government.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Precipitation patterns are changing, sea level is rising, the oceans are becoming more acidic, and the frequency and intensity of some extreme weather events are increasing.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The climatic changes are triggering wide-ranging impacts in every region of the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> and throughout the nation’s economy, the report says, adding that while some of the changes can be positive over the short run, most are detrimental since American society and its infrastructure was not designed for the rapidly-changing climate now being experienced.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report analyses impacts on human health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture, forests, and ecosystems. It also assesses impacts on the country’s eight major regions.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>What is new over the last decade is that we know with increasing certainty that climate change is happening now,” the report says. “While scientists continue to refine projections of the future, observations unequivocally show that climate is changing and that the warming of the past 50 years is primarily due to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from burning coal, oil, and gas, with additional contributions from forest clearing and some agricultural practices.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Noting that the climate is projected to continue to change over this century and beyond, the report says there is still time to act to limit the amount of change and its damaging impacts.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report says <span class="caps">U.S.</span> average temperature has increased by 1.3°F to 1.9°F since 1895, with the most recent decade being the nation’s and the world’s hottest on record.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Temperatures are projected to rise another 2°F to 4°F in most areas of the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> over the next few decades. The report says by the end of this century, a roughly 3°F to 5°F rise is projected under a lower emissions scenario, which would require substantial reductions in emissions, while a higher emissions scenario assuming continued increases in emissions, predominantly from fossil fuel combustion, would result in a 5°F to 10°F rise.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Many scientists suggest that the safe and manageable level of global temperature rise due to climate change should not exceed 3.6 °F (2°C) above pre-industrial levels.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Climate change poses a major challenge to <span class="caps">U.S.</span> agriculture because of the critical dependence of agricultural systems on climate,” the report says.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The United States produces nearly $330 billion per year in agricultural commodities. This productivity is vulnerable to direct impacts on crops and livestock from changing climate conditions and extreme weather events and indirect impacts through increasing pressures from pests and pathogens.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Climate change will also alter the stability of food supplies and create new food security challenges for the United States as the world seeks to feed nine billion people by 2050.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Water quality and quantity are already being affected by climate change, the report says, adding changes in precipitation and runoff, combined with changes in consumption and withdrawal, have reduced surface and groundwater supplies and increasing the likelihood of water shortages for many uses.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report adds that climate change affects human health in many ways.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Increasingly frequent and intense heat events lead to more heat-related illnesses and deaths and, over time, worsen drought and wildfire risks, and intensify air pollution,” the report says.<br /><br />
“Increasingly frequent extreme precipitation and associated flooding can lead to injuries and increases in waterborne disease. Rising sea surface temperatures have been linked with increasing levels and ranges of diseases. Rising sea levels intensify coastal flooding and storm surge, and thus exacerbate threats to public safety during storms.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report says that Americans face choices as the impacts of climate change are becoming more prevalent. It adds that some additional climate change impacts are now unavoidable because of past emissions of long-lived heat-trapping gases.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>The amount of future climate change, however, will still largely be determined by choices society makes about emissions. Lower emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles mean less future warming and less-severe impacts; higher emissions mean more warming and more severe impacts.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The report may give President Barack Obama more power to deal with climate change, the environment and energy issues through administrative amendments during his last 2.5 years in office. On Tuesday, the White House issued a </span><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/06/fact-sheet-what-climate-change-means-regions-across-america-and-major-se" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">media release</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> saying the report underscores “the need for urgent action to combat the threats from climate change, protect American citizens and communities today, and build a sustainable future for our kids and grandkids.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Lou Leonard, the World Wildlife Fund’s vice president for climate change, said the report provides a pathway for Americans to choose a more beneficial future.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>We need to use this practical report as a guidebook for preparing local communities for extreme weather and other climate impacts,” Leonard </span><a href="https://worldwildlife.org/press-releases/climate-assessment-drives-home-importance-of-us-emissions-reductions" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">said</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">. “At the same time, we need to transform the way we produce and use energy, leaving dirty coal, oil and gas behind. There is no time to lose.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune applauded the report and</span><a href="http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2014/05/sierra-club-statement-release-national-climate-assessment" style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> urged</a><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> the Obama administration to promote clean energy solutions like wind and solar power. “We can create good American jobs and power homes and businesses nationwide without polluting our air, water, or climate,” Brune said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><em><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Image Credit: Map showing consecutive dry days from <a href="http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/future-climate"><span class="caps">NCA</span> report website</a></span></em></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16300">NCA</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16301">US National Climate Assessment</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16302">Lou Leonard</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1495">WWF</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/666">Sierra Club</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/15521">Michael Brune</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2702">obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5648">Report</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1976">emissions</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2150">agriculture</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/15827">food security</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4593">ice melt</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2207">sea level rise</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/662">coal</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6305">oil and gas</a></div></div></div>Wed, 07 May 2014 20:52:06 +0000Chris Rose8084 at http://www.desmogblog.comOnly With Political Will Can We Avoid The Worst Of Climate Changehttp://www.desmogblog.com/2014/04/23/only-political-will-can-we-avoid-worst-climate-change
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/shutterstock_138355244.jpg?itok=rKNB3LdY" width="200" height="200" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><em>This is a guest post by David Suzuki.</em></p>
<p>It’s fitting that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released during <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2014/04/will-we-ever-learn-to-celebrate-earth-month/">Earth Month</a>. After all, the third chapter of its <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/">Fifth Assessment</a> focuses on ways to keep our planet healthy and livable by warding off extreme climatic shifts and weather events caused by escalating atmospheric carbon.</p>
<p>Doing so will require substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions – 40 to 70 per cent by 2050 and to near-zero by the end of the century. We must also protect <a href="http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/forests-and-sinks/">carbon “sinks”</a> such as forests and wetlands and find ways to store or bury carbon. The good news is that weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, conserving energy and shifting to cleaner sources comes with economic and quality-of-life benefits.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>There is a clear message from science: To avoid dangerous interference with the climate system, we need to move away from business as usual,” <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/ar5/pr_wg3/20140413_pr_pc_wg3_en.pdf">said economist Ottmar Edenhofer</a>, co-chair of Working Group <span class="caps">III</span>, which produced the chapter.</p>
<p>Doing nothing isn’t an option. That would lead to a significant increase in global average temperatures and <a href="http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change/video-the-link-between-carbon-emissions-and-extreme-weather/">extreme weather-related events</a> such as storms, droughts and floods, wreaking havoc on our food systems, communities and the natural environment we depend on for our health and survival. Technological measures and behavioural change could limit global mean temperatures to less than 2 C above pre-industrial levels, but only with “major institutional and technological change.”</p>
<p>Because we’ve stalled so long, thanks largely to <a href="http://davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2012/03/climate-change-denial-isnt-about-science-or-even-skepticism/">deceptive campaigns</a> run by a small but powerful group of entrenched fossil fuel industry interests and the intransigence of some short-sighted governments, we must also consider ways to adapt to climate change that’s already occurring and that we can’t stop.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Although carbon emissions are rising faster than efforts to curtail them, there are glimmers of hope. A growing number of networks – including cities, states, regions and even markets – are working together to implement climate plans. And costs of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Greening+China+power+brings+down+cost+renewable+energy/9579269/story.html">are falling so quickly</a> that large-scale deployment is practical. Putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions through carbon taxes or other methods is one critical way to shift investment from fossil fuels to renewables.</p>
<p>Carbon-intensive fossil fuel economies will suffer as renewable energy technologies mature – especially those relying heavily on coal and unconventional oil such as bitumen from tar sands. Canada’s choice: take advantage of the growing worldwide demand for clean energy technology, transit infrastructure and sustainable building techniques or continue to focus on selling our non-renewable resources at bargain-basement prices until climate and food-system destabilization swamps global markets and the world rejects Canada’s high-carbon fuels.</p>
<p>The <span class="caps">IPCC</span> found responsibly addressing climate change by pricing carbon and making needed investments is affordable: ambitious mitigation would reduce economic growth by just .06 per cent a year. That’s not taking into account the many economic benefits of reducing climate change – from less spending on health and disease to reduced traffic congestion and increased activity in the clean-energy sector. Considering the costs and losses climate change and extreme weather impose on our cities, communities and food systems, we can’t afford not to act.</p>
<p>A clean energy revolution is already underway and, as the world comes to grips with the need to change, it will inevitably spread. As Canadians, we can choose to join or remain stuck in the past. Tackling global warming will require all nations to get on board. That’s because greenhouse gases accumulate and spill over national boundaries. And, according to the <span class="caps">IPCC</span>, “International cooperation can play a constructive role in the development, diffusion and transfer of knowledge and environmentally sound technologies.”</p>
<p>As a policy-neutral scientific and socioeconomic organization, the <span class="caps">IPCC</span> doesn’t make specific recommendations, but it reviews the available science and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/science/earth/un-climate-panel-warns-speedier-action-is-needed-to-avert-disaster.html?hp&amp;_r=0">spells out in clear</a>, albeit technical, terms that if we fail to act, the costs and losses to our homes, food systems and human security will only get worse.</p>
<p>It’s been seven years since the fourth assessment report in 2007. We can’t wait another seven to resolve this crisis. As nations gear up to for the 21st climate summit in Paris in late 2015, where the world’s governments have pledged to reach a universal legal climate agreement, international co-operation is needed more than ever. Let’s urge our government to play a constructive role in this critical process.</p>
<p><em>With contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor Ian Hanington.</em></p>
<p><em>Learn more at <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org">www.davidsuzuki.org</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Image credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-138355244/stock-photo-effect-of-global-warming-on-a-nature.html">Global warming impacts nature via Shutterstock</a>.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/676">IPCC</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div></div></div>Thu, 24 Apr 2014 03:00:00 +0000Guest8041 at http://www.desmogblog.comClimate Disruption Tax Costs Americans Billionshttp://www.desmogblog.com/2013/03/14/climate-disruption-tax-costs-americans-billions
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/6757824757_f607201a27_b.jpg?itok=cvpWPaQl" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Here’s a term that bears repeating: <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/sequester_this_us_consumers_pa.html">climate disruption tax</a>. What is a climate disruption tax? It’s the cost to the American taxpayer of dealing with the impacts of climate-related weather events, as introduced by <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/sequester_this_us_consumers_pa.html"><span class="caps">NRDC</span>’s Dan Lashof and Andy Stevenson</a>. </p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The concept of a climate disruption tax is actually hugely important. Why? Because climate change is costing us more than trying to avoid climate change ever would, but unfortunately, this troubling little bit of economics is somehow constantly overlooked in the climate debates. We always hear about how much it will cost to transition away from fossil fuels and to slow deforestation. But the costs of inaction rarely stick in the discussion.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">It’s not for lack of research or knowledge, nor for lack of bloggers bringing it up. Over the past few years, a range of voices have weighed in with warnings from all across the socioeconomic and ideological spectra. If not quite first, but foremost, the master economist <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/oct/30/economy.uk">Sir Nicholas Stern sounded the alarm</a>, only to <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/01/27/nicholas_stern_says_he_underestimated_risks_of_climate_change.html">recently double down on his dire predictions</a>.<br /><br />
Then there are the massive insurers and even more massive reinsurers like <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/weather-related-insurance-losses-doubled-in-07">Munich Re</a> and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/12/23/swiss-re-tallies-huge-costs-climate-inaction">Swiss Re</a>. There are the <a a="" environmental="" href="http://costsofclimatechange.org/">, of course. There are <span class="caps">NGO</span>s and think tanks like <span class="caps">DARA</span> with a cold, hard economic calculus in their </a><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/26/climate-change-damaging-global-economy">Climate Vulnerability Monitor</a>. There are <a href="http://www.cier.umd.edu/climateadaptation/">academics</a>.There’s the <a href="http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/the-economic-impact-of-climate-change/"><span class="caps">U.S.</span> government itself warning of the severe costs of unmitigated climate change</a>. </span></p>
<p>These studies and reports are written about, blogged, tweeted, and sometimes cited, but they haven’t managed to nudge their way into the mainstream climate conversation. The costs often seem too far off, too theoretical–a problem for another time.</p>
<p>Which is why any clever new way of framing climate-related costs should be celebrated and spread far and why. Over on Switchboard, Lashof and Stevenson are onto something.</p>
<p>Say it with me again: <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/sequester_this_us_consumers_pa.html">Climate Disruption Tax</a>.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Lashof and Stevenson take data from an <a href="http://thoughtleadership.aonbenfield.com/Documents/20130124_if_annual_global_climate_catastrophe_report.pdf" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="caps">AON</span> Benfeld, Macroeconomic Advisors</a> report on severe weather events (or climate related disasters) in 2012, and recalculate the costs to the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> economy as a tax rate.</p>
<p>In short: climate-related severe weather events cost Americans the equivalent of tacking an extra 3.9-percent sales tax across the nation.</p>
<p>That figure is a little misleading, though, as we know that some states and regions are more severely affected than others in any given year. Superstorm Sandy took a disproportionate toll on New York and New Jersey, and if you break down the climate disruption tax by state, those states each suffered an “effective climate tax rate” of around 25 percent. Ouch. Lashof and Stevenson:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As one would expect, the Climate Disruption Tax rates for New York and New Jersey were the highest in the country last year at around 25%. The next tier of states (Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado) may be a bit more surprising, however, as these states didn't suffer from one large event like Superstorm Sandy, but instead from a series of smaller events that cost roughly double what these states received in sales tax revenues… <strong>[unlike] sales tax revenues that are used by the state to fund nearly 30% of their budgets, the Climate Disruption Tax is a dead weight loss to our economy that helps no one</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here's how it breaks down by state (click to see a larger version):</p>
<p><a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/assets_c/2013/03/climatetax2_rv-9989.html"><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/climate%20tax%202.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 244px;" /></a></p>
<p>I’m going to borrow Lashof and Stevenson’s obligatory disclaimer here:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We don’t know what portion of these costs can be attributed to climate change, but we do know that <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/smoking_causes_cancer_carbon_p.html" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">smoking causes cancer and carbon pollution fuels more extreme weather</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lashof and Stevenson get into a lot more details and run a lot more numbers on their <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlashof/sequester_this_us_consumers_pa.html">original post</a>, which you really should check out.</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">But the takeaway is that climate change is costing us real money, today, at a rate far higher than any proposed carbon tax or clean energy program would cost.<br /><br />
This climate disruption tax is real, and will only get more and more expensive the longer we put off the relatively small investments necessary to avoid the worst fates of climate change. </span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12199">climate disruption tax</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3373">NRDC</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/weather">weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/hurricanes">hurricanes</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12200">weather disasters</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12201">climate costs</a></div></div></div>Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:28:09 +0000Ben Jervey6946 at http://www.desmogblog.comSwiss Re Tallies Huge Costs of Climate Inactionhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/12/23/swiss-re-tallies-huge-costs-climate-inaction
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/sandy521.jpg?itok=s_obVOwr" width="200" height="133" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The world’s largest insurers are tallying the costs of climate inaction, and the numbers are staggering.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.swissre.com/media/news_releases/nr_20121219_sigma_natcat_estimates_2012.html">Swiss Re announced</a> recently that total economic losses in 2012 from “natural catastrophes and man-made disasters” – primarily weather events – should reach roughly $140 billion. Over 11,000 lives were lost due to the so-called “natural catastrophes” alone.</p>
<p>According to the Swiss Re report, “<a href="http://www.swissre.com/media/news_releases/nr_20121219_sigma_natcat_estimates_2012.html">Natural and man-made catastrophes in 2012</a>,” the top five insured loss events are all in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span><br /><br />
“Hurricane Sandy is the largest Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of wind span. This record storm surge caused widespread flooding and damage to a densely populated area on the East Coast of the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> It also led to the worst power outage caused by a natural catastrophe in the history of the U.S.”</p>
<!--break-->
<p>But Sandy wasn’t the only event to blame. According to the report, “extremely dry weather conditions and limited snowfall in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> led to one of the worst droughts in recent decades, affecting more than half of the country. Drought-related agricultural losses are likely to reach approximately $11 billion, including pay-outs from federal assistance programs.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20shot%202012-12-20%20at%2010.23.38%20AM.png" style="width: 550px; height: 243px;" /></p>
<p>This marks the second time in three months that one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies has put hard economic numbers to the weather-related disasters that are growing so increasingly apparent in this warming world. In October, Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company, published “<a href="http://www.munichre.com/en/media_relations/press_releases/2012/2012_10_17_press_release.aspx">Severe weather in North America</a>,” which analyzed the past 30 years of weather-related disasters, and showed a clear rising trend for both extreme weather events and the costs of recovery.</p>
<p>The Munich Re report helps put Swiss Re’s publication in context.</p>
<p>The company’s analysis shows a nearly quintupled number of weather-related loss events in North America for the past three decades, compared with a quadrupling in Asia, 2.5 times as many events in Africa, twice as many in Europe and 1.5 times in South America.</p>
<p>While climate change wasn’t mentioned in this particular Swiss Re report, it is repeatedly on <a href="http://www.swissre.com/rethinking/climate_and_natural_disaster_risk/">their website and in their literature</a>. Munich Re didn’t dance around the issue in their October report:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Anthropogenic climate change is believed to contribute to this trend, though it influences various perils in different ways. Climate change particularly affects formation of heat-waves, droughts, intense precipitation events, and in the long run most probably also tropical cyclone intensity. The view that weather extremes are becoming more frequent and intense in various regions due to global warming is in keeping with current scientific findings…</p>
<p>“In all likelihood, we have to regard this finding as an initial climate-change footprint in our <span class="caps">US</span> loss data from the last four decades. Previously, there had not been such a strong chain of evidence. If the first effects of climate change are already perceptible, all alerts and measures against it have become even more pressing.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Tony Kuczinski, <span class="caps">CEO</span> of Munich Reinsurance America, took it even further:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This publication represents another contribution to the global dialogue concerning weather-related activities and their causes. What is clearly evident when the longterm data is reviewed is that losses from weather events are trending upward. To simply say that this trend is a statistical anomaly or part of a long-term cycle of activity misses the point of these efforts – we must set aside our biases and continue a meaningful dialogue in search of answers to mitigate the losses that we are experiencing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These reports land alongside a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/pwc-climate-change-reduction-business-investments">November publication by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)</a> that warned of a frightful 6 degree Celcius rise in global temperatures if government ambitions (or lack thereof) remain at current levels.</p>
<p>Said PwC partner Leo Johnson. “Now one thing is clear: businesses, governments and communities across the world need to plan for a warming world – not just 2C, but 4C or even 6C.”</p>
<p>The report explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Even doubling our current rate of decarbonisation would still lead to emissions consistent with 6 degrees Celcius of warming by the end of the century. To give ourselves a more than 50% chance of avoiding 2 degrees Celcius will require a six-fold improvement in our rate of decarbonisation…</p>
<p>Governments' ambitions to limit warming to 2C now appear highly unrealistic. This new reality means that we must contemplate a much more challenging future. Whilst the negotiators continue to focus on 2C, a growing number of scientists and other expert organisations are now projecting much more pessimistic scenarios for global temperatures. The International Energy Agency, for example, now considers 4C and 6C scenarios as well as 2C in their latest analysis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now consider this troubling calculus: if the record losses reported by Swiss Re and Munich Re are the result of less than 1 degree Celcius of warming, one can only imagine what the economic impacts would be in a world thta's 6 degrees warmer. And that’s to say nothing about loss of lives, health impacts, hunger, and global security.</p>
<p>For now, at least, the money is talking. And the cold, hard financial facts laid bare by the insurers should convince anyone that it’s time to get serious about climate change.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9622">Sandy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/insurance">insurance</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11448">reinsurance</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/swiss-re">Swiss Re</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11449">munich re</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10040">PricewaterhouseCoopers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/weather">weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10821">superstorm sandy</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2010">drought</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11450">costs</a></div></div></div>Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000Ben Jervey6761 at http://www.desmogblog.comClimate Silence No More As Sandy Rips Through the East Coasthttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/10/31/climate-silence-no-more-sandy-rips-through-east-coast
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/2012_10_granspu.jpg?itok=oRVGawAx" width="200" height="150" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>There's a question I often pose to my undergrad students after discussing the many implications of climate change:<br /><br />
“Do you think we'll be able to change before it's too late, or do you think it's going to take some kind of natural disaster to get us moving?”<br /><br />
Unsurprisingly, most students choose the latter, although melancholically. It's not that they want it to be the case, but with all the data and warnings from scientists, up against the misinformation spewing from powerful fossil fuel corporations, they logically don't see it happening any other way.<br /><br />
It's the sad truth considering we're on the verge of a major presidential election and not once has either candidate discussed climate change or its potential threat to our country in the debates.<br /><br />
And while environmentalists and climate hawks rightfully shamed the candidates for not addressing the issue, apparently Mother Nature wasn't going to let “climate silence” continue. <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-after-landfall/100396/">Hurricane Sandy</a> slammed into the coast bringing the east coast to its knees.</p>
<!--break-->
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>I think part of learning from this is the recognition that climate change is reality,” said <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-death-toll-in-ny-at-26-gov-cuomo-blames-climate-change-for-inc"><span class="caps">NY</span> Governor Andrew Cuomo in the wake of the hurricane</a>.<br /><br />
It's unfortunate that in order for politicians to start acknowledging the issue, let alone addressing it legislatively, it's taken the Atlantic's largest hurricane on record (1,000 miles in diameter) to <a href="http://youtu.be/_Xkdv0H31d8">submerge</a> a 100-yr old subway system, decimate coastal properties, leave millions without power, and worst of all, kill dozens of citizens. Now they are forced to face the facts.<br /> </p>
<center>
<img alt="" height="148" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Subway%20flood1" width="264" /><img alt="" height="149" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Subway%20flood%202" width="246" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Subway flooding at the Whitehall Station, which had recently completed a $530 million remodeling (the stairs you see go down to the subway platform).</em></span></center>
<p><br />
Well, except for Governor Romney, who, after <a href="http://updates.gawker.com/post/34699991583/tired-of-constantly-flip-flopping-on-every-single">multiple attempts by reporters</a>, still refuses to answer simple questions about <span class="caps">FEMA</span> and disaster relief funding. Perhaps it's because he's eating his words right now after stating at the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=ZENtH3psXl4"><span class="caps">RNC</span> that he has no interest in “slowing the rise of the oceans” or “healing the planet”</a> - a statement <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7T-Wy17U6M&amp;feature=youtu.be">Bill Clinton called him out on</a> at a rally in Minnesota yesterday.<br /> </p>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="293" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/317896_4619632287164_1957343136_n.jpg" width="278" /></p>
</center>
<p>It's hard to deny seeing the predictions of climate scientists <a href="http://www.climatecodered.org/2012/10/connecting-dots-between-frankenstorm.html">unfold</a>. For example, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/10/10/1209542109">warmer oceans</a> would contribute to more intense storms. Ocean temperatures are <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/?index_region=at">5 degrees F warmer</a> than usual right now, intensifying the storm like a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3b8jSX7ec">baseball player using steroids</a>. This also increases the likelihood that a storm will track north. As global temperatures continue to increase, so does the atmosphere's ability to hold moisture, leading to more rain.</p>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="303" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/14th%20floating%20cars" width="303" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Flooding at 14th St. and Ave. C in Manhattan</em></span></p>
</center>
<p>The sea levels are rising, encroaching up the coast and making <a href="http://ht.ly/eTmWZ">storm surges more destructive</a> (especially at high tide, as happened with Sandy). The Battery in lower Manhattan saw <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/how-global-warming-made-hurricane-sandy-worse-15190">record storm surge levels</a>, at over 9 feet above high tide. In fact, sea levels are rising <a href="http://news.discovery.com/earth/sea-level-rise-endangers-east-coast-120626.html">4 times faster</a> on the Northeast coast of the <span class="caps">US</span> than the global average.<br /><br />
Lastly, even the <a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2012GL051000.shtml">record low Arctic ice levels</a> <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/how-global-warming-made-hurricane-sandy-worse-15190">may have influence</a> over these types of storms by messing with the Jet Stream and blocking the storms from heading out to sea, instead shoving into the east coast.</p>
<blockquote>
“Extreme weather is a reality. It is a reality that we are vulnerable,” continued Cuomo. “And if we’re going to do our job as elected officials, we’re going to need to think about how to redesign, or as we go forward, make the modifications necessary so we don’t incur this type of damage. This city, this region, is very susceptible to coastal flooding. It’s not something we’ve had to deal with historically with any frequency whatsoever. So we’re not built in a way that has the built in protections seen in other states.”</blockquote>
<center>
<p><img alt="" height="331" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Breezy%20Point%20Fire" width="453" /><br /><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Over 100 homes in Breezy Point Queens burned when fire crews couldn't contain a fire caused by a burst electrical line.</em></span></p>
</center>
<p>Even Mayor Bloomberg <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/83055.html?hp=l4_b2">couldn't deny the severity of weather events</a> in recent years (even if he can't quite hop on the global warming reality train),</p>
<blockquote>
“What is clear is that the storms that we’ve experienced in the last year or so around this country and around the world are much more severe than before. Whether that’s global warming or what, I don’t know. But we’ll have to address those issues.”</blockquote>
<p><br />
This storm will cost the city and tri-state area billions in damages, for one storm, yet we refuse to invest in measures that could combat and mitigate climate change, in effect preventing these disasters from getting worse. Instead the conversation continues to be about “clean” coal, “natural” gas, and “home-grown” oil extracted within our borders. In the meantime, this is my second hurricane in New York in two years.<br /> </p>
<blockquote>
“There’s only so long you can say, ‘well this is a once in a lifetime and it will never happen again,” said Governor Cuomo, “I believe it’s going to happen again. I pray that it’s not; I believe that it is.”<br /><br />
</blockquote>
<p>So how many natural disasters is it going to take before we can have this long overdue conversation with our nation's leaders?</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7257">new york city</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10799">Hurricane Sandy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8003">Governor Cuomo</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8722">Mayor Bloomberg</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5529">fossil fuel industry</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/bill-clinton">Bill Clinton</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1520">Barack Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8750">rising sea levels</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10800">Rising Ocean Temperatures</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10801">Climate Change Impacts</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10661">climate silence</a></div></div></div>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:05:12 +0000Laurel Whitney6626 at http://www.desmogblog.comCongressional Report: Impacts of Climate Pollution "A Cocktail of Heat and Extreme Weather"http://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/26/congressional-report-impacts-climate-pollution-cocktail-heat-and-extreme-weather
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/flickr-1724854552-original.jpg?itok=Fb2E4r_N" width="200" height="133" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Ranking members of the House Committees on Natural Resources and on Energy and Climate released a joint report earlier this week that traces the imprints of climate change on recent extreme weather patterns.<br /><br />
With <a href="http://democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/sites/democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/files/documents/2012-09-25_ExtremeWeather_.pdf"><em>Going to Extremes: Climate Change and the Increasing Risk of Weather Disasters</em> (pdf)</a>, Representatives Ed Markey (D-<span class="caps">MA</span>) and Henry Waxman (D-<span class="caps">CA</span>) continue to forge ahead in their roles as the most outspoken and honest members of the House when it comes to climate change. Unfortunately, they stand alone even in the critical committees on which they sit: the report includes a front page disclaimer that it “has not been officially adopted by the Committee on Natural Resources or the Committee on Energy and Commerce and may not necessarily reflect the views of its Members.” </p>
<p class="p1"><em>Going to Extremes</em> opens with a quote by University of Arizona climatologist <a href="http://www.environment.arizona.edu/jonathan-overpeck">Dr. Jonathan Overpeck</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>This is what global warming looks like at the regional or personal level. The extra heat increases the odds of worse heat waves, droughts, storms and wildfire. This is certainly what I and many other climate scientists have been warning about.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It then proceeds to catalog the worst of the devastating weather trends of late, connecting the dots between these impacts and the greenhouse effect.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>The report also emphasizes the costs of this extreme weather. Citing Aon Benfield, a global reinsurance company, the insured losses alone associated with these weather disasters have already total over $22 billion through July, and that number doesn’t include all of the summer’s wildfires, nor all of the drought’s impacts, which are expected to add billions more. When all is said and done, the total costs of 2012 extreme events “are expected to be significant and may rival the record-breaking $55 billion from 2011.”</p>
<p>Looking just at 2012, the report places these impacts into five categories. Here are the findings distilled down, as well as a few choice graphics, but it's well worth leafing through the <a href="http://democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/sites/democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/files/documents/2012-09-25_ExtremeWeather_.pdf">original report itself</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Extreme Temperatures</strong></p>
<ul><li>
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the continental United States. Some areas were up to 8° F warmer than average.</li>
<li>
Spring 2012 in the continental United States significantly surpassed any historical records for the hottest spring and most extreme season of any kind, according to <span class="caps">NOAA</span>'s National Climatic Data Center (<span class="caps">NCDC</span>).23 With the warmest March, third warmest April, and second warmest May, the spring season was approximately 5.2°F above average—the largest temperature departure from the average of any season on record for the lower 48 states. </li>
<li>
January through August 2012 was the warmest first eight months period for the lower 48 states, breaking the previous record set in 2006 by 1°F.</li>
<li>
For the continental United States, the August 2011-July 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period since recordkeeping began in 1895. This broke the record set in June 2012 which in turn broke the record set in May 2012 which in turn broke the record set in April 2012.</li>
<li>
Temperature observations show that through late June 2012, daily record highs were outnumbering record daily lows by a ratio of 9-to-1. </li>
</ul><p><img alt="Warmest 12-month periods" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20shot%202012-09-26%20at%2012.51.39%20PM.png" style="width: 550px; height: 449px; " /></p>
<p><strong>Drought</strong></p>
<ul><li>
As of early September, 64% of the continental United States was experiencing drought. The extent of drought in July, August and September 2012 is on par with the worst months of the multi-year droughts of the 1930s Dust Bowl and the mid-1950s… By the beginning of August, over half the counties in the United States had been designated disaster zones because of the drought.</li>
<li>
The combination of heat and dryness has severely reduced the quality and quantity of the corn and soybean crop, with 51% of the corn and 38% of the soybeans rated as poor or very poor as of August by the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Department of Agriculture. </li>
</ul><p><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20shot%202012-09-26%20at%2012.55.26%20PM.png" style="width: 550px; height: 461px; " /></p>
<p><strong>Wildfires</strong></p>
<ul><li>
This fire season over 8.6 million acres have burned in the United States, an area about the size of New Jersey and Connecticut combined.</li>
<li>
In particular, Colorado suffered the worst fires in the state’s history in July. Overall, the wildfires in Colorado destroyed 600 homes, killed 6 people, and caused approximately $500 million in property damage. </li>
<li>
Wildfires in the United States are already increasing due to warming. In the West, there has been a nearly four-fold increase in large wildfires in recent decades, with greater fire frequency, longer fire durations, and longer wildfire seasons. This increase is strongly associated with increased spring and summer temperatures and earlier spring snowmelt, which have caused drying of soils and vegetation.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Storms</strong></p>
<ul><li>
The powerful “derecho” storm system in early July left a trail of death, destruction and downed power lines from Illinois to Virginia, killing at least 23 people, leaving over 3.7 million people without power during extreme heat, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.</li>
<li>
In late June, Tropical Storm Debby slowly traversed Florida, dropping over a foot of rain, causing the state to have its wettest June on record.</li>
<li>
At the end of August, Hurricane Isaac became the first hurricane to make landfall along the Gulf Coast since 2008. The Category 1 storm caused multiple days of torrential rainfall and a storm surge up to 15 feet in places…The storm caused at least seven deaths and total economic losses are expected to be in the billions of dollars.</li>
<li>
Rainfall from Hurricane Isaac contributed to Louisiana and Mississippi experiencing their second wettest August on record and to Florida experiencing its wettest summer ever.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Extreme Water Levels and Temperatures</strong></p>
<ul><li>
Drought in the Mississippi watershed has caused near-record low river levels in places, reducing vital barge transportation and harming aquatic life…The low water levels have forced five harbor closures in Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi, and the low water levels are expected to continue into October.</li>
<li>
Heat and low water are causing tens of thousands of fish to die in Midwestern rivers and lakes. </li>
<li>
In July, water temperatures in the Great Lakes reached temperatures typically seen in late August or early September with three buoys recording temperatures of 60 and 65°F, more than 10-degrees warmer than the same time last year.</li>
<li>
Lake Superior which is the northernmost, coldest, and deepest of the five Great Lakes, was the warmest it has been in July in at least a century.</li>
<li>
Satellite photos show that only about 5% of the Great Lakes surface froze this winter, compared to the average 40% that is covered by ice in a typical winter…The declines in ice cover follow increases in temperatures. Winter air temperatures over the lower Great Lake increased by about 2.7°F (1.5°C) from 1973 – 2010, and by 4 – 5°F (2.3 – 2.7°C) over the northern Lakes, including Lake Superior.</li>
<li>
During the first six months of 2012, sea surface temperatures in the northeastern Atlantic were the highest ever, breaking a record that goes back to 1854. </li>
</ul><p><img alt="Lake Superior melt" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Screen%20shot%202012-09-26%20at%201.04.48%20PM.png" style="width: 486px; height: 654px; " /></p>
<p>After cataloging this year's weird and disastrous weather, the report reminds us that this comes after another record-breakingingly disastrous year. In 2011, there were an unprecedented 14 weather and climate disasters that caused over $1 billion in damages. </p>
<p>The latter half of the report looks forward, suggesting that even these extreme years are just the tip of the climate disaster iceberg. Layering climatic predictions from the best available science against national trends, it warns of dire economic and human impacts in a future where weather systems are “juiced” by a warming climate. It concludes with a blunt and conclusory statement that is far too rare in contemporary climate discourse, and practically absent inside the Beltway:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>All weather events are now impacted by climate change to some degree because the underlying conditions that give rise to weather have been changed. Climate change has contributed to shattered records and unprecedented weather catastrophes, like those the United States has experienced this summer. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-1724854552">laura*b</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4150">Ed Markey</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/henry-waxman">henry waxman</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/weather">weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6681">House</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5227">politics</a></div></div></div>Sat, 29 Sep 2012 18:00:00 +0000Ben Jervey6547 at http://www.desmogblog.comScience Denial and Andrea Saul – Romney 2012 Campaign Spokespersonhttp://www.desmogblog.com/science-denial-and-andrea-saul-romney-2012-campaign-spokesperson
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/andrea%20saul%20wide%20shot.JPG?itok=A5xmU5CS" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div>
<em>This is a guest post from Connor Gibson, originally published at <a href="http://www.polluterwatch.com/blog/science-denial-and-andrea-saul-%E2%80%93-romney-2012-campaign-spokesperson">PolluterWatch</a>.</em></div>
<div>
<br /><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/407692-andrea-saul-briefing-greenpeace.html">A fully-footnoted version of this briefing is available for download from DocumentCloud</a>.</div>
<h2>
<span class="caps">INTRODUCTION</span>: </h2>
<div>
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>Andrea Saul</strong>, a prominent Romney 2012 campaign operative and spokesperson, formerly worked for <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, a Washington <span class="caps">DC</span> public affairs and lobbying firm. During this period, <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group was on contract to ExxonMobil at the height of Exxon’s campaign attacking global warming science and climate change policy. <span class="caps">DCI</span>’s efforts included campaigns to undermine climate legislation and to push counter messages and spokespeople to media on the connection between extreme weather and global warming. Saul’s extensive role in these <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group climate campaigns can be traced through archived documents and press releases. Her role in shaping Romney’s climate and science policy is not known. </div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Gov. Romney does not think greenhouse gases are pollutants within the meaning of the Clean Air Act, and he does not believe that the <span class="caps">EPA</span> should be regulating them,”</em> <em>said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. “<strong><span class="caps">CO</span>2 is a naturally occurring gas. Humans emit it every time they exhale</strong>.”</em> <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59342.html#ixzz1zsEhYRZE">Politico</a>, July 2011 <strong>.</strong></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
Ms. Saul has also responded to Mitt Romney's contradictory public statements on global warming. <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/10/28/141803099/mitt-romney-criticized-for-slow-motion-climate-change-flip-flop"><span class="caps">NPR</span> reported</a> in October, 2011:<br />
“Romney went from believing that humans contribute to global warming, though he was uncertain how much, to saying he didn't know what contributes to global warming.” Andrea Saul denied that Romney had “flip-flopped” on his climate stance, responding:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<em>“This is ridiculous. Governor Romney's view on climate change has not changed. He believes it's occurring, and that human activity contributes to it, but he doesn't know to what extent. He opposes cap and trade, and he refused to sign such a plan when he was governor. Maybe the bigger threat is all the hot air coming from career politicians who are desperate to hold on to power.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<!--break-->
<h2>
<span class="caps">ANDREA</span> <span class="caps">SAUL</span> <span class="caps">AND</span> <span class="caps">DCI</span> <span class="caps">GROUP</span></h2>
<ul><li>
Saul was hired March 2011 as a Romney campaign spokesperson. Today, she regularly appears in the media as the main messenger for the campaign.</li>
<li>
While employed with the <span class="caps">PR</span> firm <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group as an account executive between 2004-2007, Ms. Saul helped to orchestrate a multi-faceted, covert operation to undermine science, attack scientists and confuse the public and reporters. </li>
<li>
<span class="caps">DCI</span> was, at that time, contracted as lobbyists by Exxon and many other corporations. <a href="http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/pdfform.aspx?id=300465770">Exxon remains a <span class="caps">DCI</span> client</a> today.</li>
</ul><div id="cke_pastebin">
From 2004 to 2007, Ms. Saul worked at the <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, a top lobbying and public relations firm that has represented a range of clients including the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/05/the-dci-group-responds-on-burma/53206/">Burmese junta</a> and has orchestrated front group campaigns for <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2001/aug/23/news/mn-37472">Microsoft</a>, Verizon and ExxonMobil. More on ExxonMobil's role in climate science denial is outlined in Steve Coll's new book, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/books/review/private-empire-steve-colls-book-about-exxon-mobil.html?pagewanted=all">Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power</a>.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Two of the <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group founders, Tim Hyde and Thomas J. Synhorst, began their <a href="http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/search/basic?fd=0&amp;q=%22grassroots+specialist+Tom+Synhorst%22&amp;df=er&amp;c=at&amp;c=ba&amp;c=bw&amp;c=ca&amp;c=ct&amp;c=da&amp;c=ll&amp;c=lm&amp;c=mg&amp;c=mm&amp;c=pm&amp;c=py&amp;c=re&amp;c=rj&amp;c=ti&amp;c=ub&amp;c=us">careers with the tobacco industry</a> where they worked to undermine the science on the dangers of smoking. For instance, Mr. Synhorst oversaw field operations with the “smokers rights” groups, a phony movement designed to shift the discussion away from the dangers of smoking to the protection of smoking rights.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
In the early-2000s, <span class="caps">DCI</span> picked up ExxonMobil as a client and began operations to create confusion about climate change science. For instance, the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115457177198425388.html">reported</a> on a purportedly homemade YouTube video portraying Al Gore as a sinister figure who blames several problems on global warming. The video’s maker was listed as “Toutsmith” a 29-year-old who identified himself as living in Beverly Hills, California.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
However, when <em>Journal</em> reporters contacted “Toutsmith” his return emails originated from a computer registered with the <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group. A spokesman from Exxon confirmed that the company was a <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group client. <span class="caps">DCI</span> declined to admit to the Wall Street Journal if they had made the video. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
According to the <em><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115457177198425388.html">Wall Street Journal</a></em>: </div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Traffic to the penguin video, first posted on YouTube.com in May, got a boost from prominently placed sponsored links that appeared on the Google search engine when users typed in “Al Gore” or “Global Warming.” The ads, which didn't indicate who had paid for them, were removed shortly after The Wall Street Journal contacted <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group on Tuesday.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
As part of this Exxon funded campaign, Andrea Saul was a point person behind an effort to create confusion and advance contrarian viewpoints and corporate-funded pundits. </div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>This briefing illuminates Ms. Saul’s efforts at <span class="caps">DCI</span>: </strong>
<p class="rteindent2 rteindent1"><img alt="" src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/andrea saul wide shot.JPG" style="width: 331px; height: 272px; margin: 8px; float: right;" /></p>
</div>
<ul><li>
<a href="#1"><span class="caps">PART</span> 1)</a> Ms. Saul advanced the opinions of contrarian scientists and corporate-funded pundits on the Exxon-funded Tech Central Station, a purported news web site;</li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="#2"><span class="caps">PART</span> 2)</a> Ms. Saul sought to promote contrarian voices into the debate over hurricanes and climate change in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="#3"><span class="caps">PART</span> 3)</a> Ms. Saul promoted the views of a scientist who had no training in climate change to undermine a study on climate change effects on the Antarctic ice sheet; </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="#4"><span class="caps">PART</span> 4)</a> Ms. Saul led a public relations campaign to undermine scientific consensus on the science of climate change; </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="#5"><span class="caps">PART</span> 5)</a> Ms. Saul pushed out press releases for a front group linked to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Grover_Norquist">Grover Norquist</a> designed to undermine pending climate change legislation.</li>
</ul><p><u><strong><span class="caps">ADDITIONAL</span> <span class="caps">CONTENT</span></strong></u>:</p>
<ul><li>
<a href="#DCI Heartland doc">Leaked Document: <span class="caps">DCI</span>, Heartland Institute and Exxon plan attacks on Clean Air Act (2006);</a></li>
</ul><ul><li>
<p><a href="#DCI Romney staff"><span class="caps">DCI</span> Group former staff within Romney 2012 campaign.</a></p>
</li>
</ul><p class="rteindent1 rteindent2">(<strong><em>click links above to jump down to a section of the briefing</em></strong>)</p>
<h2>
<a name="1" id="1"></a>1. Andrea Saul - Contact on Climate Change for Phony News Site, Tech Central Station</h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Tech Central Station is a free market news site that was established, owned and published by <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group until it was <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/node/5371">sold</a> in September 2006. According to a story published in 2003 in the <em><a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.confessore.html">Washington Monthly</a></em>, Tech Central Station appeared to be less about news than lobbying. The story found:</div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Tech Central Station looks less like a think-tank-cum-magazine than a kind of lobbying practice. Which makes sense: Four of the five co-owners of <span class="caps">TCS</span> are also the co-owners of the <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, the Washington public affairs firm founded by Republican operative Thomas J. Synhorst. <span class="caps">TCS</span>'s fifth owner is Charles Francis, who is also a senior lobbyist at <span class="caps">DCI</span> and is listed on <span class="caps">TCS</span>'s phone directory. And as it happens, three of <span class="caps">TCS</span>'s sponsors–<span class="caps">AT&amp;T</span>, General Motors, and PhRMA–have also retained <span class="caps">DCI</span> for their lobbying needs. (Both <span class="caps">DCI</span>'s spokeswoman and <span class="caps">TCS</span>'s chief executive officer declined to be interviewed for this article. However, after I requested comment, the Web site was changed. Where it formerly stated that 'Tech Central Station is published by Tech Central Station, <span class="caps">L.L.</span>C.,' it now reads 'Tech Central Station is published by <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, <span class="caps">L.L.</span>C.')</em></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Like its publishing arm, <span class="caps">DCI</span>'s business is to influence elite opinion in Washington. But instead of publishing articles, <span class="caps">DCI</span> specializes in what's known as 'corporate-financed grass-roots organizing,' such as setting up front groups to agitate for a client's position, placing letters to the editor with key newspapers, and using phone banks to generate calls to politicians. <span class="caps">TCS</span>, for its part, includes a disclaimer on its site noting that 'the opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of the writers and not necessarily those of any corporation or other organization.' But it is startling how often the opinions of <span class="caps">TCS</span>'s writers and sponsors converge.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
In 2006, Andrea Saul was <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060317152414/http:/www.tcsdaily.com/sections/science_roundtable.aspx">listed as the contact person</a> on Tech Central Station’s webpage on climate change. The site hosted opinions written by many prominent climate change science deniers including <strong>Patrick Michaels, Willie Soon, Sallie Baliunas, David Legates, Robert C. Balling, Henry I. Miller, Tim Ball, William Gray, Anthony Lupo, and Roy Spencer</strong>. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>
<a name="2" id="2"></a>2. <span class="caps">DCI</span> Tech Central Station - Campaign on Link Between Hurricanes and Climate Change</h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
On the eve of the 2006 hurricane season, after the worst year of hurricane damage in recent history, including the devastating and deadly hurricane Katrina, <span class="caps">DCI</span> was deployed to create a counter narrative on the connection between stronger hurricanes and global warming. It is unknown who the <span class="caps">DCI</span> client was requesting this work, or what the deliverables were.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
As part of the <span class="caps">DCI</span> efforts, <em>Tech Central Station</em> produced and distributed a <a href="http://cironline.org/reports/shaping-media-message-video-news-releases-vnrs">Video News Release</a> (<span class="caps">VNR</span>) that called into question the science linking hurricanes with climate change. <span style="line-height: 20px; ">The <span class="caps">VNR</span> along with a known newscast that used the piece, is viewable online, preserved by the <a href="http://cironline.org/reports/shaping-media-message-video-news-releases-vnrs">Center for Investigative Reporting</a>:</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DXBqe7ngp24" width="420"></iframe></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<span class="caps">VNR</span>s are produced videos, contracted generally by corporations, edited as news segments and sent out to news stations in small markets in hopes of filling airtime within the actual newscast. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<span class="caps">DCI</span>’s hurricane <span class="caps">VNR</span> was distributed to <span class="caps">TV</span> stations across the Gulf states and was aired on at least one of them. Materials accompanying the video package listed “<span class="caps">TCS</span> Daily Science Roundtable” as the producer. The <span class="caps">VNR</span>’s announcers said:</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“There’s a lot of debate as to what’s been causing all of these hurricanes. Some scientists say it’s part of a naturally occurring cycle, while others have made the claim global warming is to blame.</em></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Dr. William Gray and Dr. James O’Brien, two of the nation’s top weather and oceans scientists, point to scientific data for the answer […].</em></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Gray and many of his colleagues believe it’s not global warming that’s creating these massive hurricanes, but the cycle of nature itself.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>Growing Body of Scientific Evidence on Hurricanes and Climate Change:</strong></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Around the time that Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August 2005, several papers were published in the scientific literature that found a potential link between hurricanes and climate change.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Two months before Katrina hit, Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research published a <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/308/5729/1753.full">'Perspective' article in <em>Science</em></a> that examined the published literature for possible evidence linking hurricanes and climate change. Dr. Trenberth concluded:</div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Trends in human-influenced environmental changes are now evident in hurricane regions. These changes are expected to affect hurricane intensity and rainfall, but the effect on hurricane numbers remains unclear. The key scientific question is not whether there is a trend in hurricane numbers and tracks, but rather how hurricanes are changing.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Weeks before Katrina landed, <strong>Kerry Emmanuel</strong> with the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<span class="caps">MIT</span>) published a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v436/n7051/abs/nature03906.html">study in <em>Nature</em></a> that reviewed the power of roughly 4,800 hurricanes in the prior few decades. His analysis concluded that hurricanes that occurred over this period were increasing in average intensity. </div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“My results suggest that future warming may lead to an upward trend in tropical cyclone destructive potential, and—taking into account an increasing coastal population—a substantial increase in hurricane-related losses in the twenty-first century.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Evan Mills of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published a <a href="http://evanmills.lbl.gov/pubs/pdf/insurance_and_climate.pdf">'Viewpoint' in <em>Science</em></a> which argued that the insurance industry was vulnerable to the negative financial impact of disasters accentuated by climate change. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
The month after Hurricane Katrina hit, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Center for Atmospheric Research published a <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/309/5742/1844.full">study of tropical cyclones in <em>Science</em></a>. The data found an increase in the number and proportion of hurricanes reaching the largest categories, which are 4 and 5. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
The accumulated evidence of these papers, along with the media reports, had a definitive impact on public opinion. A <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1975813_1975844_1976436,00.html">poll run by Time/<span class="caps">ABC</span> News/Stanford University</a> at that time, found that 85 percent of Americans agreed that the Earth was growing warmer. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
On the eve of the 2006 hurricane season, <span class="caps">DCI</span> responded to growing public recognition of global warming. On March 30, 2006, Andrea Saul sent out a <a href="http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&amp;STORY=/www/story/03-30-2006/0004330403&amp;EDATE=">press release</a> alerting reporters to “experts” who could discuss the link between hurricanes and climate change. This press release furtively lists Saul as representing “Technology Commerce Society”, the tag line for <span class="caps">TCS</span> Daily, Tech Central Station’s daily blog website…it’s either Tech Central Station or the Technology Commerce Society. Saul’s real employer, <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Ms. Saul wrote in the release: </div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Coming off one of the most devastating hurricane seasons in recent memory, many are quick to blame the strength and frequency of these storms on global warming. Leading climate scientists, however, say there is no link between increased storm activity and a massive change in global climate.” </em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
The scientists listed on the press statement included:</div>
<ul><li>
<strong>James J. O’Brien</strong>, director of the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University – As an expert in oceanography and weather, Dr. O’Brien appeared to have little to no expertise in climate change <a href="http://coaps.fsu.edu/people/obrien/obriencv.pdf">according to his <span class="caps">CV</span></a> of published studies. </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/roy-spencer"><strong>Roy Spencer</strong></a>, Research Scientist at the University of Alabma – Spencer has long been a denier of anthropogenic global warming and has been <a href="http://ttp://www.marshall.org/experts.php?id=122">affiliated</a> with many contrarian groups including the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_C._Marshall_Institute">George C. Marshall Institute</a>. </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-michaels"><strong>Patrick Michaels</strong></a>, Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Virginia – A denier of anthropogenic global warming, Dr. Michaels has maintained strong ties to several denialist and front groups for oil and gas interests including the <a href="http://www.cato.org/people/patrick-michaels">Cato Institute</a> and the <a href="http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/global-warming-produced-greener-more-fruitful-planet">Greening Earth Society</a>. </li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/george-taylor"><strong>George Taylor</strong></a>, Manager of the Oregon Climate Service at the University of Oregon – With no training in climate change or hurricanes, Taylor’s job was “to help advise Oregon farmers, fishermen, skiers and motorists about likely weather conditions, both short- and long-term” (Jeff Wright, <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&amp;dat=20080222&amp;id=1F9WAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=b_ADAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=2424,4372635">Eugene Register-Guard</a>, Feb. 22, 2008).</li>
</ul><ul><li>
<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/anthony-lupo"><strong>Anthony R. Lupo</strong></a>, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Missouri – A global warming denier and conservative activist, Lupo has been affiliated with numerous denialist organizations including the Science and Environmental Policy Project, the <a href="http://heartland.org/anthony-r-lupo">Heartland Institute</a>, and the <a href="http://www.marshall.org/experts.php?id=152">Marshall Institute</a> (see also <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/407348-greenpeace-letter-to-charles-koch-8-6-12.html">Dr. Lupo's resume</a>).</li>
</ul><div>
<h2>
<a name="3" id="3"></a>3. Andrea Saul - Promoting the Views of a Non-expert Expert</h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
In April 2006, Andrea Saul put out a press release to promote the views of weatherman and climate contrarian <strong>George Taylor</strong> who <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oregon-state-climatologist-questions-global-warming-study-in-washington-post-55235012.html">attempted to rebut</a> a study published in <em>Science</em> which found that the Antarctic ice sheet was melting. Ms. Saul wrote:</div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“<span class="caps">TCSD</span>aily Science Roundtable member and Oregon state climatologist George Taylor, expressed his concern over the legitimacy of recent claims that the Antarctic ice sheet is melting. The </em>Washington Post<em> article titled 'Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Melting Rapidly' (</em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201712.html">www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/<span class="caps">AR</span>2006030201712.html</a>)<em> looked to Taylor to provide an expert view on the validity of a recent study published in </em>Science<em> magazine on global warming.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
George Taylor was the Manager of the Oregon Climate Service at the University of Oregon and had no training in climate change or its effects on polar regions of the Earth. According to an article about his retirement in 2008, Taylor’s expertise was “ to help advise Oregon farmers, fishermen, skiers and motorists about likely weather conditions, both short- and long-term” <span style="line-height: 20px; ">(Jeff Wright, </span><a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&amp;dat=20080222&amp;id=1F9WAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=b_ADAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=2424,4372635">Eugene Register-Guard</a><span style="line-height: 20px; ">, Feb. 22, 2008).</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>
<a name="4" id="4"></a>4. Andrea Saul - Led Campaign to Undermine Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Science</h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
In mid 2006, the American Meteorological Society (<span class="caps">AMS</span>) sought to draft a consensus statement on the science of climate change. This statement examined the vast body of research on the matter in attempt to better explain the science to both scientists and the American public.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
In response, several scientists sent a <a href="http://www.nhinsider.com/nhigb/2006/12/10/ams-council-amend-draft-statement-on-climate-change.html">letter to the <span class="caps">AMS</span></a> in an attempt to introduce contrarian views about “natural variability” and “data uncertainty” in the climate. The lead author of the letter was <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/joseph-d-aleo">Joseph D’Aleo</a> a well-known climate change denier who has no training in climate change science. Other signatories include contrarian scientists and corporate funded pundits such as <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/richard-lindzen"><strong>Richard Lindzen</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/sallie-baliunas"><strong>Sallie Baliunas</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/patrick-michaels"><strong>Patrick J. Michaels</strong></a>.</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
To advance these views, Ms. Saul led a public relations campaign to “<a href="http://www.nhinsider.com/nhigb/2006/12/10/ams-council-amend-draft-statement-on-climate-change.html">influence the deciding committee on the final statement</a>.” </div>
<div>
</div>
<h2>
<a name="5" id="5"></a>5. Andrea Saul - Work with Grover Norquist Front Group, United For Jobs</h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
When Congress was considering a tax on oil companies in the mid 2000’s, Andrea Saul leaped to Big Oil’s defense as part of United For Jobs, front group. In a press release by Saul, <a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/United+for+Jobs+Warns:+Federal+'Windfall+Profits+Tax'+Legislation...-a0144002450 ">she wrote</a>:</div>
<blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>“Today United for Jobs (<span class="caps">UFJ</span>) warned that federal legislation to impose a so-called “windfall profits tax” on <span class="caps">U.S.</span> oil companies would have a severe economic impact on public employee trust funds. The Missouri Highway Patrol Retirement System, the Public School Employees' Retirement System of Missouri, the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, and other public retirement funds could lose as much as $325 million per year in foregone gains, according to a recent study by the Investors Action Foundation (<a href="http://www.windfallprofitstax.org/">http://www.windfallprofitstax.org/</a>).”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
United for Jobs had already led the campaign to <a href="http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2004/08/01/new-study-shows-hefty-price-tag-mccain-lieberman-bill">kill the McCain-Lieberman climate legislation</a> on a rolling basis beginning in 2004. In 2005, the latest McCain-Lieberman climate bill was gaining slow momentum and Senator McCain pushed for more votes. McCain staff told to us at the time that United for Jobs was the most formidable opponent, with their appearance as a multi-denominational coalition of “labor”, black business (<a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=113">National Black Chamber of Commerce</a>), and seniors groups (<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association">60 Plus Association</a>). <span style="line-height: 20px; ">United for Jobs attacked numerous other proposals for greenhouse gas regulations, including a </span><a href="http://www.polluterwatch.com/node/515/edit">counter offense</a><span style="line-height: 20px; "> against Senator Jeff Binghaman’s carbon dioxide regulatory efforts in 2005 </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
United for Jobs no longer exists, but an <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060624085846/http://www.united4jobs.org/">archived website</a> finds that their office was located at 1920 L Street, <span class="caps">NW</span> Suite 200 Washington, <span class="caps">DC</span> 20036. At the time, this was the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060717041136/http://www.atr.org/">exact same address</a> for Americans for Tax Reform, a corporate front group managed by Grover Norquist, an associate of disgraced lobbyist <strong>Jack Abramoff</strong>. </div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong><span class="caps">DCI</span> Group</strong> served as the contact and distribution node for United for Jobs reports and press releases.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<h2>
<strong><a name="DCI Heartland doc" id="DCI Heartland doc"></a>Leaked Document: <span class="caps">DCI</span>, Heartland Institute and Exxon plan attacks on Clean Air Act</strong></h2>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
An anonymous source sent Greenpeace a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/320999-heartland-exxon-clean-air-act-mtg-2006.html">copy of an invitation, agenda and attendees list</a> for a May 2006 meeting organized by the <strong><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/heartland-institute-hi/">Heartland Institute</a></strong> and hosted at the <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group offices “to discuss public policy challenges related to the Clean Air Act.” The only corporation represented at the meeting was ExxonMobil. Exxon representatives gave two presentations over the course of the full day meeting. Six ExxonMobil staff are listed as invited guests. Two <span class="caps">DCI</span> – Tech Central Station representatives are named on the invitees list, along with a note “plus <span class="caps">DCI</span> field officers and staff”. <strong>It is unknown whether Andrea Saul attended this meeting</strong>.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="DC-note-container" id="DC-note-66935">
</div>
<script src="http://s3.documentcloud.org/notes/loader.js"></script><script>
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!--
dc.embed.loadNote('http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/320999/annotations/66935.js');
//--><!]]>
</script></div>
<div>
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
Organizations invited to this session included:</div>
<ul><li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/american-council-on-capital-fo/">American Council for Capital Formation</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/american-enterprise-institute/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.3.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=130427791">American Enterprise Institute</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/american-legislative-exchange/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.5.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=221136024">American Legislative Exchange Council (<span class="caps">ALEC</span>)</a></li>
<li>
Black Chamber of Commerce</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/cato-institute/">Cato Institute</a></li>
<li>
Center for Science and Policy</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/competitive-enterprise-institu/">Competitive Enterprise Institute (<span class="caps">CEI</span>)</a></li>
<li>
<span class="caps">CRA</span> International</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/frontiers-of-freedom/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.10.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=16025398">Frontiers of Freedom</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/george-c-marshall-institute/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.12.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=221538328">George C. Marshall Institute</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/the-manhattan-institute/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.14.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=221603736">Manhattan Institute</a></li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/national-taxpayers-union-found/?__utma=1.644215745.1340031630.1344282501.1344288512.14&amp;__utmb=1.16.10.1344288512&amp;__utmc=1&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=1.1344288512.14.5.utmcsr=google|utmccn=(organic)|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=greenpeace%20koch%20american%20council%20capital&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=228476189">National Taxpayers Union Foundation (<span class="caps">NTUF</span>)</a></li>
<li>
Phoenix Strategies</li>
</ul></div>
</div>
<script src="http://s3.documentcloud.org/notes/loader.js"></script>{cke_protected}<script>
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!--
dc.embed.loadNote('http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/320999/annotations/66935.js');
//--><!]]>
</script></div>
</div>
<h3>
<u><a name="DCI Romney staff" id="DCI Romney staff"></a><span class="caps">DCI</span> Group former staff within Romney 2012 campaign:</u></h3>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<em>(Quotations sourced from <a href="http://www.p2012.org/candidates/romneyorg">Democracy in Action</a>)</em></div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
</div>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>Matt Rhoades,</strong> Campaign Manager:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<em>“(announced Feb. 15, 2010) A vice president with <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, May 2007-Feb. 2010. Communications director on Romney's presidential campaign, Jan. 2007-March 2008. A deputy communications director in charge of research for the <span class="caps">RNC</span> during the 2006 election cycle. Research director for the 2004 Bush/Cheney re-election campaign. Deputy research director at the <span class="caps">RNC</span>, 2003-04. White House Liaison at the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Office of Personnel Management in the Bush Administration, and earlier an Associate Director in the White House Presidential Personnel Office. <span class="caps">B.A.</span> from Syracuse University, 1997; and an <span class="caps">M.A.</span> from The George Washington University, 1999.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>Andrea Saul</strong>, Press Secretary:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<em>“announced March 3, 2011 as communications advisor to Free and Strong America <span class="caps">PAC</span>) Press Secretary for Carly Fiorina’s <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Senate race in California. Communications director for Gov. Charlie Crist during his recent <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Senate run but resigned in April 2010 upon his decision to switch party affiliation. Press secretary to U.S Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-<span class="caps">UT</span>) during much of 2009. Director of media affairs for McCain-Palin, responsible for organizing all television, radio and surrogate activity. Director of media affairs at the Republican National Committee, 2007-08. Associate account executive at <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, 2005-07. Graduate of Vanderbilt University, 2004. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/andreamsaul">twitter</a>”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div id="cke_pastebin">
<strong>Evan Yost</strong>, Deputy Communications Director and Research Director:</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<em>“(June 2011) <span class="caps">M.B.A.</span> in finance, accounting from Rice University, 2011. A director at <span class="caps">DCI</span> Group, 2007-09. Deputy director of research on John McCain 2008 in 2007. Special assistant for strategic initiatives in the Office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, 2005-06. <span class="caps">B.A.</span> in English literature from The Johns Hopkins University, 2000.”</em></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/dci-group">DCI group</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/640">exxon</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2257">mitt romney</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3065">lobbyists</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4245">carbon dioxide emissions</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9878">andrea saul</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9879">election 2012</a></div></div></div>Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:20:50 +0000Guest6458 at http://www.desmogblog.com"Welcome to the Rest of Our Lives": Climate Crock Video on Extreme Weather Eventshttp://www.desmogblog.com/welcome-rest-our-lives-climate-crock-video-extreme-weather-events
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/rex_tillerson.jpg?itok=t2wci27u" width="200" height="200" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Since January more than <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-03-Weird%20Weather/id-5b045c95974544ec9a97b57ed4aa7b1b">40,000 hot weather temperature records have been broken in tihe <span class="caps">U.S.</span> </a>while fewer than 6,000 cold records have been broken. More than <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/07/03/510481/media-connecting-the-dots-on-us-storms-heat-and-wildfires-this-is-what-global-warming-looks-like/">3,000 of those hot weather records were broken in June alone</a>. Over 2.1 million acres of land across the country has burned in raging wildfires and two-thirds of the country is experiencing extreme drought.</p>
<p>As fires, droughts, floods and extreme hurricane-like weather events have plagued the West and the Midwest for the past five months, the conversation surrounding climate change and its relation to evolving weather patterns worldwide has been steadily scaling up.</p>
<p><a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-03-Weird%20Weather/id-5b045c95974544ec9a97b57ed4aa7b1b">Jonathan Overpeck, professor of geosciences and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona told the Associated Press</a>: “this is what global warming looks like at the regional or personal level.” Adding, “the extra heat increases the odds of worse heat waves, droughts, storms and wildfires. This is certainly what I and many other climate scientists have been warning about.”</p>
<p>This week conservative commentator and <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/george-will-and-cognitive-dissonance">climate change skeptic George Will</a> dismissed the significance of the last month's heat wave, saying, “<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/trending/2012/07/09/george_will_record_heat_waves_and_drought_are_just_summer_get_over_it_.html">we're having some hot weather. Get over it</a>.”</p>
<p>The latest installment of <a href="http://climatecrocks.com/2012/07/10/new-video-welcome-to-the-rest-of-our-lives/">Peter Sinclair's Climate Denial Crock of the Week</a> video series connects the dots between extreme weather and climate science.</p>
<p>If for nothing else, this video is worth watching to see the movement of a derecho - a freakishly strong storm front with unnaturally high wind and energy levels - as it gallops across the nation. The storm left millions without electricity and killed more than 20 people.</p>
<!--break--></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video-blog field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="media-youtube-outer-wrapper" id="media-youtube-1" style="width: 480px; height: 360px;">
<div class="media-youtube-preview-wrapper" id="media_youtube_b0NrS2L6KcE_1">
<object width="480" height="360">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b0NrS2L6KcE?version=3"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b0NrS2L6KcE?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed>
</object> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-text-after-video field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> Although ExxonMobil <span class="caps">CEO</span> Rex Tillerson is shown throughout the video saying, “we'll adapt,” others might see these extreme weather events as further evidence that we need to curtail our global warming pollution problem sooner, not later, if we want to avoid provoking worsening weather events in the future. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/george-will">George Will</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4387">peter sinclair</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4400">climate denial crock of the week</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8218">Forecast the Facts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9674">Jonathan Overpeck</a></div></div></div>Sun, 15 Jul 2012 14:00:00 +0000Carol Linnitt6424 at http://www.desmogblog.comNRDC Report Predicts 150,000 Heat-Related Deaths Due To Climate Changehttp://www.desmogblog.com/nrdc-report-predicts-150-000-heat-related-deaths-due-climate-change
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Melting%20Ice%20People%20WWF%20Rosa%20Merk.jpg?itok=fYz-_R2m" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Chances are, if you're already concerned about being off'ed by climate change, it's probably because you imagine being swept away by a super-charged hurricane, drowned by rising sea levels, starved because of drought-induced crop failure, or set aflame by roaring wildfires. But as it turns out, your risk of perishing by the titans of extreme weather may be a ways off - because <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/killer-heat/">the heat may get to you first</a>.<br /><br />
If you didn't already know, heat is actually the number one killer amongst its weather-related brethren, causing more fatalities than floods, lightning, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined, <a href="http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml">according to <span class="caps">NOAA</span></a>.<br /><br />
A new report released this week by the <span class="caps">NRDC</span>, <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/killer-heat/files/killer-summer-heat-report.pdf">“Killer Summer Heat: Projected Death Toll from Rising Temperatures in America Due to Climate Change” [<span class="caps">PDF</span>]</a>, estimates that 150,000 people could die because of heat-related deaths, with numbers increasing over the century as climate change continues to crank up the temperatures. And, predictably so, communities' ability to cope with the ordeal will depend on our efforts to reduce carbon pollution and employ life-saving adaptive measures.</p>
<!--break-->
<p>Cities harbor the majority of the population and are more prone to heat-related problems. The concrete jungles absorb and retain more heat than rural areas (not to mention the concentration of millions of sweaty people in a small area) can also contribute to local temperatures. Furthermore, other factors such as green space and urban structuring (eg row housing vs. high rises) can have an impact as well.<br /><br />
Taking all these factors into account, many cities in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Midwest and Northeast have higher risks of steam-cooking their populations. Cities in these areas have variable summer climates - it's not uncommon for a hot streak of consecutive 100-degree days to pop up amidst averages of 80s. To the most vulnerable of the population- including the elderly, obese, and children - these 20-degree rises can prove deadly.<br /><br />
More temperature-stabilized regions, like Miami or Arizona, don't experience the same risk because people living there are accustomed to sweltering environments and generally have access to protection (such as air-conditioning).<br /><br />
However, cities can vastly reduce the number of deaths if they take preventative measures. The studies show that access to cooling centers, checking in on vulnerable citizens, and increasing the capacity of emergency room and ambulance medical technicians are highly effective.<br /><br />
Even so, the authors of the report call the predictions “conservative.” They didn't take into account growing population, especially baby boomers, who would likely fall under the “most vulnerable” category.<br /><br />
Additionally, statistics on heat-related deaths in the past may also be conservative because medical examiners generally only label a death as “heat-related” if the body temperature is over 104 degrees. They can't necessarily label respiratory ailments or heart attacks as heat-related, despite the fact that more people die of those conditions during extreme heat events, leaving the threat of heat understated.</p>
<p><em>Photo by <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/?173563/Tiny-ice-figurines-draw-attention-to-big-problem">Rosa Merk - <span class="caps">WWF</span></a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3373">NRDC</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3828">adaptation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6522">extreme weather</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6929">heat waves</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8751">climate impacts</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9220">mitigation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9221">extreme heat</a></div></div></div>Thu, 24 May 2012 18:08:41 +0000Laurel Whitney6329 at http://www.desmogblog.com